Holiday Makes!

I don’t usually take traditional summer holidays, I tend to prefer doing a city break later in the year. This year however, I decided to break with tradition, and have a proper British seaside holiday in Weymouth.Weymouth holds a fond place in my heart, it was the location of many happy childhood holidays, but I realised that I hadn’t been for over ten years! As well as walks along the beach and lots of ice cream, I was keen to do some crafty activities and set about looking for things to do.

Glassblowing

Whilst searching on TripAdvisor for activities, one of the top-rated activities was glass blowing at Stuart Wiltshire Glass. I’ve always wanted to have a go at glassblowing but have never really followed this up by looking for classes. Mr Makes & Bakes was just as keen to have a go, and so we swiftly booked our places!

During the class, you can choose what to make, and we both decided to make two glass tumblers. We began by hearing a quick overview of the process, and it was then time to start making! During the entire session, Stuart is there providing expert one-to-one tuition and helping you through each step. I’ve never really appreciated how much work goes into glass making and how complicated it is, plus the intense heat it is carried out under!

Our glasses quickly took shape, although we had to wait until the next day to see the finished product, as the glass needs to cool down slowly. I was really excited to see the completed glasses, and when we went to collect, I was so happy (and slightly relieved) that they had turned out so well! I’m pleased with the colours which we chose, I had picked white and turquoise, whilst Mr M&B selected white and a mid-blue.

The finished glasses do have a slightly ocean-feel to them and are wonderful reminders of lots of time spent walking by the sea! We’ve decided to use our glasses as candle holders rather than glasses, for fear of breaking them whilst washing up! Although we’ve lit candles in them a few times, I’m already looking forward to the dark, winter nights, when these will really brighten up our living room!

Pottery Painting in Poole

I love pottery painting. This probably stems from the fact that I am obsessed with Emma Bridgewater and want it all! I’ve done pottery painting a number of times before, but when I saw that Poole Pottery now offered it, I was keen to have another go!

I decided that I wanted to make a small plate. I always see plates as a proper blank canvas, and dream of one day having a huge dresser full of hand-painted crockery. I wanted to create a keepsake of my holiday and so settled on a seaside theme. Earlier in the week I had been doodling and had sketched out ‘Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside’ in a script font. I decided to re-use this on my plate. Inspired by the cute sea-front beach huts at Lyme Regis, I also added a small hut to the middle of the plate.

As we were only visiting Poole for the day, we had our finished products posted to us, the perfect post-holiday pick me up! I’m by no means the next Emma Bridgewater, but I’m so happy with how my plate turned out, especially the lettering! The most challenging part of the painting was that the paints dry much darker when they are glazed, so it was tricky to mix colours. I’m really pleased with how they turned out though.

What’s Next?

So that’s it, my holiday makes! There’s still plenty of Summer left, so I’m hoping to continue with the crafting. There should also be a Make and Meet coming up soon, I’ve taken embroidery kits to the last few, so am thinking I should try something different this time, ideas are always appreciated! I’m also going to try and get my sewing machine out in the garden and make the most of the nice weather!

What have you been working on recently? Have you attended any good classes?

I’d really recommend the place we went to in Weymouth, it was reasonably priced (£40 each), and included one-to-one tuition. It’s also a very man-friendly craft session, my other half loved it! (Possibly more than me!)

About Me

Hi! I’m Emma, designer of products that promote positivity and general good vibes. I love chocolate biscuits, boxsets, and the colour yellow, and am a firm believer that a cup of tea can solve almost everything.